


I'm coming out of my cage

by strawberryklance



Series: Gay Trans Keith [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Because yes, Coming Out, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron)-centric, Keith and Shiro are Siblings, M/M, POV Keith (Voltron), Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Male Character, broganes, go away, just no, shaladins no, some Pining Keith, the angst is very minimal, they're bros, trans author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 03:17:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9301652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryklance/pseuds/strawberryklance
Summary: How Keith came out as a trans boy and then as a gay boy.





	

When Keith was twelve years old, he cut his hair short. Mom was afraid that he would get teased for being the only girl with short hair, but Shiro supported his decision and helped him choose a haircut. It was shorter than the average twelve year old girl's, and kind of wavy in a sweet way. Keith realized that he really liked how it made him look, how you wouldn't be able to tell if he was a girl or a boy if you were to stand behind him. He couldn't explain the feeling to himself, but started looking for it in everything he did. He even dug out Shiro's old clothes from their storage and reveled in the feeling of being called 'young man' by strangers.

When he turned fourteen, he figured out what made him different. He learned the word transgender, and after doing some research, realized that it didn't mean a guy in women's clothes like he had been believing the whole time. He had to search more than he was willing to admit to fully understand the idea, but learned that it meant someone who didn't identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. Keith thought about what it felt like when people called him a girl and used the pronoun 'she' when referring to him – and he realized that it felt wrong. It made him squirm uncomfortably and gave him the urge to say something, to somehow correct the person, only up until then he hadn't known how he would correct them. Now he knew – he was a boy.

The first thing Keith began worrying about was how his brother would react. Their mother had died a year earlier, but he couldn't help but think about her opinion as well. And what about other people? How would he proceed from here? What can he do about this?

He never got the courage to tell his brother. Well, he kind of did, actually. In fact, he was planning on it the day Shiro found out on his own. Keith found out that, while he had deleted the trans-related searches from the shared computer, the ads showing up on YouTube and on other websites consisted of binders and surgeons promoting their sex change-operations. And apparently Shiro had had a hunch for a while, anyway.

It was a Sunday, and Shiro was writing an article in the office as usual. Almost fifteen-year-old Keith was lying down on his bed, facing the ceiling with headphones on. His walls were covered in various posters of motorcycles, bands, movies, and one of Lady Gaga. He really liked Lady Gaga, but only Shiro knew. Not that he had friends to tell about it, anyway. Other kids at school would just make fun of him.

Keith could faintly hear a knock on his door before it opened. He tore off his headphones and turned to Shiro with a confused look.

“Done already?”

“No. I actually have something I want to talk to you about.”

Keith's eyes widened. “Whatever it is, I didn't do it. Or didn't mean to do it.”

Shiro laughed at the his panic and shook his head. He gestured to the Keith's desk chair until he got an approving nod and sat down.

“It's nothing bad,” he said. “I just noticed some...unusual ads I've been seeing on the computer. You know it shows ads based on your searches?”

Keith's face reddened as he thought about the gay porn he had accidentally clicked on last night while innocently browsing through a thread on Reddit. Someone had thought it would be funny to claim that they had proof of Mothman's existence and give a link to porn. Of course, Keith had stupidly clicked on it. He should've known better by now. That couldn't have been it, right?

“I'm not sure what you're referring to...” Keith mumbled.

“I know you were on a porn website last night, this is not about that.”

Keith's face was on fire. “IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!”

Shiro laughed again, then looked at Keith more seriously. “Listen, just know that I'm not mad or upset.”

“About what?” Keith asked suspiciously.

“I'm just going to ask this outright, but if you don't want to answer, that's okay.”

“Alright...”

“Are you transgender?”

Keith felt like the words sent him into a coma. His eyes widened in shock and he suddenly felt like breaking down in tears and burying his face in Shiro's chest. Let Shiro hold him like he had done when he was younger, rock him in his arms. He felt so alone and helpless, because he didn't know. He didn't know what would happen if he said yes – Shiro had said he wasn't mad or upset, but that didn't mean he was happy. What if Shiro thought Keith was just going through a phase or pretending? What if he turned out to be supportive? What would happen?

At the end of the day, Keith knew he couldn't lie to his brother. Not about something like this, especially since he had been thinking about telling him for quite some time. And now Keith's eyes were filling up with the tears he'd promised he wouldn't shed, and Shiro was shushing him gently.

“Hey, it's okay. Everything is okay.”

Shiro moved to sit down next to Keith and wrapped an arm around him. “I promise, it's okay.”

Keith sputtered through his tears. “Is it? What would mom say? She always wanted a daughter and now her only one _isn't even a girl_ and what about --”

“Shh, shh...She would be proud. She loved both of us, no matter what.”

“Really?”

“Of course. This is nothing to be ashamed about, I hope you know that.”

“I know...kind of.”

Shiro held him for a while, rubbing his back and kissing his cheek with an obnoxious kissing sound that made Keith laugh. And Keith felt okay.

“So, what's my baby brother's name, huh?” Shiro asked gently.

“I have a couple options,” Keith said, wiping his nose. “I'm stuck between Ethan and Keith.”

“Both sound very cool, buddy. Let me know when you decide. What should I call you until then? Mothman?”

Keith smacked his brother's side, resulting in a mini wrestling match that was quick to end when Shiro threatened to tickle Keith.

\- - -

When Keith heard Shiro talking about him to an outsider for the first time after coming out, he almost cried. It was obvious that Shiro was completely supportive about the whole thing, but actually having proof that he was being taken seriously made Keith smile from ear to ear.

“Sorry, sir, I really can't come in today. My younger brother has been sick for a while and I need to take him to a doctor. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Keith would have screamed from happiness had he not been extremely sick. The doctor's visit really didn't feel so bad after that.

\- - -

Keith was sixteen, almost seventeen, when he finally came to the conclusion that he was gay. He had always liked boys, but when he realized he was a boy himself, he had felt weirdly guilty about it. He had done his best to hide it up until he really couldn't anymore, and turned to his good friend Google. Turned out there were way more gay trans guys than he'd thought. He had thought he was like an ancient artifact, but no. There was a whole community of people like him, and it calmed his nerves. Although that was only one of the things that helped him come to terms with his orientation. Another one of those things was his crush.

He didn't know Lance very well, but he was in some of his classes. Lance was a blue-eyed, brown-haired, freckled boy who seemed to love absolutely everyone. He was always smiling at others, always offering help to everyone who needed it. Keith had the pleasure of sitting next to him in math, which was a subject he actually struggled with a lot. They'd quickly developed a system where they did their work together on each lesson, and texted about the homework questions if they were particularly difficult. Every time Lance smiled at him Keith felt his soul leave his body. Believe it or not, it was a good feeling.

Lance waved at him happily when they passed each other in the hallways, sometimes even going as far as to shout his name from far away. He wasn't ashamed to interact with Keith, the loner no one really knew. It made Keith's heart flutter and his insides twist with an anxious happiness every single time. Lance was so kind, so sweet. Keith couldn't even begin to describe what went through his head when Lance, blushing and twitching, asked him out on a date.

We can all guess what Keith's answer was.

The problem was, he had never been on a date. He had never thought anyone would even want to go on a date with him. And now he had to turn to his dear brother for advice. While he could have just lied and said he was going out with a new friend, he really didn't want to. He wanted to tell Shiro that he was going on a date with another boy, and that he was, in fact, very excited about it.

It was Thursday evening when Keith approached him, lying down on the couch, reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose as he read. Keith felt bad about disturbing him, but it was important. The date was tomorrow, and he would only have time to stop by after school to change. He needed something to wear – something cute but casual. He was so bad at this, while Shiro went on dates with his girlfriend all the time. Though Keith guessed it must be different when you're already dating the person.

“I need to ask you something,” he blurted out.

Shiro jumped slightly and lowered the book. “Jesus, Keith. You gotta warn a guy.”

“Sorry.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah...I need your help. I wouldn't come to you for fashion advice if I wasn't absolutely desperate.”

“Okay, first of all, rude. I am perfectly fashionable, thank you. Second of all, fashion advice? For what?”

“I kind of have a date.”

“A DATE? Why didn't you tell me?! When? Who? Jesus!”

Keith groaned, covering his reddening face. “Shut up! And it's not Jesus.”

“Who else could it be?”

He tried to stop himself from snickering. “His name is Lance.”

Shiro doesn't react to the fact that Keith's date is a boy. “You didn't answer my other questions! When is the date?”

“Tomorrow, after school. Calm down.”

“I can't believe this. Your first date! That's it, we're going to go plan your outfit right now. Screw this book, this is way more exciting.”

Keith couldn't hold back his smile as Shiro rushed past him to head for his room. His heart clenched with the unbearable happiness that filled it. He looked up in the direction of the ceiling.

“Everything's okay now, mom,” he whispered, hoping someone would deliver his message.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Sending my love to everyone who's afraid to come out, who came out and got a bad response, who never wants to come out to certain people, who wants to make their coming out a big deal, who isn't planning on addressing it because it's unnecessary, who is excited about coming out, who is out and proud, who wants to come out on national coming out day, who will do it just when they feel like it, who is only coming out to one person, who wants everyone in their life to know - you're all beautiful and valid. Coming out is a personal choice, don't let anyone else affect yours. ♥


End file.
